Akins leaves Albemarle to become head football coach at SWR

ASHEBORO — There are very few high school football coaches in the state of North Carolina who have enjoyed the recent success of Albemarle’s Danny Akins. For the past three seasons as the Bulldogs’ head coach, Akins has led his team to the 2010 state championship and back-to-back games in the Western Regional championship.

And although Akins isn’t promising the same type of success at Southwestern Randolph High School, where he was recently named the Cougars’ new head coach, Akins said he definitely believes he can help build a program the school and community will be proud of. Akins takes over for Martin Samek,who resigned after three seasons at the helm.

Akins has been at Albemarle for 21 years, the last three as head coach, and he said one of his goals is to assure the Cougars are competitive in every game they play. The Cougars finished 3-8 overall last year, 0-5 in the Mid-Piedmont Conference.

“I don’t know if we can do the same thing or have the same type of success, but I know we can go over there and be competitive and be successful to the point that we are in every game and have a chance to win every game.” Akins said.

Akins brings with him a wealth of experience and success to a program which has struggled for most of its 40-plus years existence.

“When we asked him how you change the culture of a program, he didn’t give us a long, drawn-out answer,” SWR Athletic Director Tyler Clapp said. “He said you do it with hard work. We think he was the best fit for our program.”

Clapp said nearly 50 coaches applied for the position and a committee interviewed eight candidates before selecting Akins.

“Every one of the eight we interviewed were highly qualified,” Clapp said. “He’s been there and done that. Winning a state championship, playoffs every year, knowing how to win. The whole committee agreed he fit what we were looking for.”

Akins said the decision to leave Albemarle was tough. But his wife is a teacher and coach at East Davidson High School and he said he was looking for a school closer to Thomasville, where his wife’s family resides. The couple is expecting their first child.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, it was tough for me,” said Akins, who was been with the Bulldogs’ program since 1992. “The main reason it’s a family situation. I’ve been in Albemarle longer than I have been anywhere in my life. It’s been a big part of my life. I am very thankful. I was given some great opportunities to be successful. I worked with a lot of great people.”

Last year, Albemarle captured the Yadkin Valley Conference championship,finished 10-1 in the regular season and then dusted off South Robeson, Union Academy and East Columbus before dropping a 27-24 decision to Murphy in the Western Regional final. The year before, Albemarle fell in double-overtime to Murphy in the regional final.

Akins said he knows very little of the football history at SWR. But he said as a wrestling coach as well, he knows how much success the Cougars have had in that sport.

“I know they have struggled at certain issues,” Akins said of the football program. “I know they had some good years, too. That’s all about I knew. I knew more about the wrestling program. I’ve been up there for wrestling tournaments and I liked the way the school was. They have been successful in other sports and if you have success in wrestling, you can have success in football.”

Akins, who is 41-5 as a head football coach in games played — Albemarle had to forfeit three games in 2010 because of an ineligible player — said he will adjust his offensive and defensive schemes depending on the type of talent the Cougars possess. But there’s some other work that has to be done first.

“The first thing you have to give them is stability,” Akins said. “You have to have a coach who will go out and talk to the people. Get kids to come play. They have to know you’re in it for the long haul. And you have to work from within. You can’t worry about what everyone else is doing. You just have to worry about yourself. Hard work is a mindset.”

Akins, who like Samek teaches math, will finish the school year at AHS and then begin summer workouts at SWR. He said he will make plans to talk to potential players as soon as possible.

“My first year at Albemarle as an assistant we were 1-9 and the next year we were 4-7,” Akins said. “The next year we went 11-0. It’s a gradual process and what’s in the past is in the past. What you decide to do today is what’s going to determine what happens.”